Warren County Park District CEO Matt Latam told Mason City Council on Jan. 13 that the district is wrapping up a strategic planning process and is seeking partnership opportunities with local municipalities — including Mason — to expand conservation, education and trail connectivity across the county.

Latam said the park district manages more than 1,700 acres across 18 properties, including 12 parks open to the public and six undeveloped conservation parcels. He highlighted Armco Park — located roughly three miles north of Mason along State Route 741 — as a district flagship: the property totals about 311 acres and includes a roughly 110-acre lake, golf, fishing, boating, rentals, shelters and a softball complex; Latam said Armco receives over 400,000 visitors per year.

Latam described an upcoming $1,000,000 stream and wetland restoration project at Deerfield Park (Deerfield Township) funded with H2Ohio grants and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds; the project will create nature-play and education opportunities and restore stream functions. He said the park district currently does not levy a dedicated property tax and that roughly half the district’s funding is allocated from Warren County Commissioners’ distributions; the remainder comes from grants, donations and earned revenue such as concessions.

The district’s governing board, Latam said, is a three-member panel appointed by the county probate judge; he named current commissioners Ben Yoder, Wendy Monroe and Chris Heise and said Judge Joseph Kirby makes appointments. Latam told council the district is preparing mission and vision statements and running statistically valid surveys, stakeholder focus groups, and a steering committee of about 40 community leaders as part of the strategic plan. The draft mission statement he shared reads, in part, “to enhance our communities’ well-being by preserving quality natural spaces” and the vision focuses on conservation education, recreation and connectivity.

Latam said benchmarking against similarly sized Ohio park districts showed Warren County ranks low in preserved parkland per population and in funding compared with peers, a gap the district hopes to address through targeted acquisitions — especially environmentally sensitive parcels in rapidly developing areas — and grant strategies. He said the district will hold multiple public open houses in March to share the draft strategic plan and invite public comment.

Council members asked whether the benchmarking included all county-managed parks (Latam said the peer comparisons represented only the acreage the peer park districts manage) and whether the district has a numeric target for acreage per population (Latam said there is not a single absolute standard for the natural resource focus; instead the district benchmarks against similar counties and looks to reach at least the peer midpoint). Latam said the district was interested in partnering with Mason to deliver nature-education programming inside city parks and to protect open space through coordinated efforts.

Latam left contact information with staff and said he would provide the strategic plan packet for council review.